A video of our client’s ten year old son Phin with their dog Lobo.
The video was filmed with Lobo off-leash as he and Phin made their rounds around town.
An interesting afternoon.

The first question really should be, is there a difference?

Conventional Dog Training

Obviously dog training is readily available in most communities throughout the U.S. and abroad. There are no shortages of group classes, semi-private and private classes along with in-kennel training (aka boot camps).

At the end of the day, with all of this dog training going on, how many highly trained dogs do you meet at the park, going for walks with their owners or at the homes of friends and family? Of those dogs that could be considered the best behaved in comparison to the others, how many are spoken to sternly? How many owners must raise their voice to gain control? How many owners must repeat the same command over, and over and over again? How pleasant is it for guests who are not dog lovers to visit?

Dog trainers the world over teach, “command, don’t request”. It’s almost a dog-training commandment. That philosophy certainly doesn’t seem to be working. Plenty of dog owners “command” their dogs using strong tones (to say the least) and yet their dogs still disobey. It surely isn’t pleasant to listen to, not for the dog, owner or bystanders. Instructing pet owners to demonstrate they are the “alpha” is also commonplace. Pet owners are making sure they walk through doorways, down stairways and through breezeways first to demonstrate their “alpha” role. Their dogs are no longer allowed to sit beside them on the couch (no being on the same level), no more “people” treats (leftovers) and certainly no getting down on the same level with them.

A Different Paradigm

Through watching our videos and even more so when visiting our training center you quickly begin to notice a few differences. Of course, performing off-leash just as well as on-leash will be one of the first. The differences go beyond just performance. It has to do with our understanding of dogs, of dog behavior and in turn, the way in which we work in harmony with dogs.

You may notice the way we speak to dogs (and give commands) is in a normal pleasant tone. You enjoy be spoken to in a pleasant tone, so does your dog! You would certainly notice that we use as much motivation as possible. Your dog can not be too happy!! Obeying you should be one of the most pleasurable, or rewarding experiences for your dog. You might see that we have the highest level of control with our dogs yet we give them tremendous freedom. That’s because if you can control your dog anytime, anyplace and under any circumstance, you don’t actually need to always be controlling. Therefore we believe “as much control as necessary, and as little as possible” in everyday life.

These are but a few of the many differences you will find in our approach in working with your dog. If we had to sum up our approach it would be “complete control yet absolute freedom”.